Lemon Pesto Vegetable Skewers

Happy Fourth! I meant to get this online sooner, but between the launch of The History Kitchen and my husband’s birthday, it’s been kind of a crazy week. At any rate, if you’re looking for a vegetarian option for your 4th celebration, and you happen to be heading out the door to the grocery store, print this first! You’ll be glad you did.

I threw these skewers together for my husband’s birthday a few days ago, and my guests loved them. I had been planning on using my usual lemon-garlic-butter baste, but then I remembered I had some pesto left from another recipe I developed last week, so I changed it up a little. The result was awesome… it gave the veggies an herby, creamy flavor that my guests flipped over. You’ll have to forgive the pictures, they don’t do the dish justice. I was in the middle of cooking a birthday dinner, the sun was going down, and I didn’t have time to snap “beauty shots.” You’ll just have to trust me on this one. They’re awesome.

Feel free to change up the veggies if you’d like– mushrooms and onion chunks would also work well. You can make your pesto at home, or use the stuff from the jar if you’re in a hurry. Fresh always tastes best, but in this case a jarred pesto would work just fine. If you’re a vegetarian, make sure you use a vegetarian pesto (the jarred varieties usually include cheese with rennet, so it would be safest to make your own). You can make these pareve or dairy free (vegan) by making your own Dairy Free Pesto and using olive oil rather than butter. Both versions will taste great, but I must say that the dairy version with dairy pesto and melted butter is rather fabulous. Either way, your guests will love this, and it couldn’t be easier to throw together!

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I made these the other night. Don’t know why, but they tasted way more lemony than pesto-infused. Next time I might leave out the lemon zest, or the lemon altogether. I know, then it’s just pesto-grilled veggies, but nothing wrong with that!